Keeping the Music Alive: The Pyles

Words by Carmen Macri and Ambar Ramirez

The Pyles

Artimus, the last living member of the original (not founding) Lynyrd Skynyrd — a legacy that weighs on him daily — continues to honor the band’s memory. Whether through tribute songs performed with his band Artimus Pyle Band (APB) or with PyleTribe, or through the lingering sense of lost companionship, that history remains ever-present.

“My drums have seen some amazing things, and they do talk. They talk to me every day. They’re going to talk to me tomorrow night when I play these songs, especially the Skynyrd stuff,” Artimus shared. “And I got to tell you, sometimes when I’m playing songs like ‘Simple Man’ and ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ I get very emotional. Sometimes it brings me to tears. But I realize that I’m sitting behind the drums. I’m playing. I’m in the middle of a show, in the middle of a song, and I can’t break down. And I just get through it because I’m thinking about all of my friends that are up in rock and roll heaven. I never know when it will hit me. I’ll be playing and then a certain word or a certain passage of a song will kick in my emotions. I’m not a founding member, but I’m the last living member. And it makes me sad sometimes, but the music lives on.”

But the music doesn’t only live on through Artimus, it lives on through all his children. One in particular is Chris Pyle, founder of PyleTribe, a Southern-fried tribal boogie band. 

“It’s been a wild ride as you can imagine. I mean, I was like four and five years old, and he [Artimus] would take me on the road with him, you know, and so I have a lot of crazy memories of the original band [Lynyrd Skynyrd],” Chris recalled. “I can go back and see pictures of me as a baby inside his kick drum. I just always, always loved it. I kind of breathe it.” 

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While APB will cover Lynyrd Skynyrd classics, PyleTribe pays tribute to the late band in other ways. Through original music inspired by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Chris’s experience growing up while his dad was touring with the legendary band. 

“I think I was a little rebellious against it for a while cause I got really into rural music. But then you know, getting older, I [realize] it’s my roots. I love it,” Chris shared. “And then for me, I wasn’t a songwriter. I was really just a drummer most of my life and then kinda later in my 40s, I was like, ‘I’m gonna try to start writing some songs,’ and I kind of had this whole other epiphany of just how incredible Ronnie Van Zant was as a songwriter.”

Artemis recalled the very moment when Charlie Daniels reached out to him about a little band in need of a new drummer. 

“Charlie Daniels and the Marshall Tucker Band were giving me a high rating. Charlie wanted me to try out for his band at first when his drummer quit but ultimately decided not to. And Charlie said, ‘I’m right in the middle of a tour, but I do know of a band that needs a drummer,” Artimus explained. “I said, ‘What’s their name?’ He said, ‘Lynyrd Skynyrd’. I said, ‘Do they work hard?’ And Charlie said, ‘I think so.’ I found out that Lynyrd Skynyrd was the hardest-working band in the business. And that was Ronnie Van Zant, he was a taskmaster, and he would have us go over “Sweet Home Alabama” 50 times in a row so that when we got on a stage in front of 100,000 people, we didn’t have to think what was coming next, just how hard we needed to hit it.”

Artimus joined the band nearly a decade into its journey, but he still felt a deep connection to Jacksonville—whether it was the people, the music, or the undeniable Southern spirit that shaped his sound.

“I love Jacksonville, I love Saint Augustine and that whole area, you know all the little places that it keeps to keep the music alive,” Artimus said. 

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